


Veracity

by Mel_Malone



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: (just as a catchall for everyone else), Alya Salt, Angst, Bad Parent Gabriel Agreste, Character Bashing, Chloé Bourgeois Redemption, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Good Chloé Bourgeois, Kagami is an epic ice queen, Lesbian Chloé Bourgeois, Lesbian Kagami Tsurugi, Lila Rossi Bashing, Lila Rossi Lies, Lila Rossi's Lies Are Exposed, Lila salt, Luka Kagami and Chloe are all sassy, Marinette Dupain-Cheng Needs a Hug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Kagami Tsurugi Friendship, My First Work in This Fandom, Not Canon Compliant, Protective Kagami Tsurugi, Protective Luka Couffaine, a Protect Marinette Squad forms, class salt, just assume half of s3 didn't happen bc i didn't watch half of it tbh, ml salt, no beta we die like men, this show messes with my feels too much
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:41:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23367115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mel_Malone/pseuds/Mel_Malone
Summary: When Marinette starts to adjust to her new reality and considers believing Lila's words about her, the best people in her life remind her (forcefully but lovingly) what the real truth is, and she makes sure not to let their support go to waste.
Relationships: (But only at the start), Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Kagami Tsurugi, Chloé Bourgeois/Kagami Tsurugi, Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 93
Kudos: 606





	1. Trying to Look Up

**Author's Note:**

> So, I get a sort of vindictive thrill from salt fics, and I wanted to try my hand at one. You should probably know before starting this that Miracle Queen didn't go down the way it did in canon - Marinette grabbed the Bee Miraculous because by this time she'd gotten over Adrien and was okay that he was interested in someone else, so Lila was chosen to be Hawkmoth's pawn instead of Chloé. Also, I didn't watch a lot of season 3, and what I did watch was a big blur of me being emotional, so if I make a mistake about any information that's mentioned in that season, that may be why if it's not intentional.  
> Hopefully, you like this, though! I won't be able to stay consistent with when updates come out, but I'll do my best to at least keep the quality consistent.

"Rough day again?"

Marinette could barely lift her head from her bed after she'd flopped onto it in exhaustion. She didn't need to look to know who the source of the voice was, though. "A rough day to conclude a rough week at the tail end of a rough month... And it's shaping out to be a rough year."

After climbing up into his girlfriend's room, Luka quietly climbed halfway up the steps to her bed. He leaned against the railing while considering her sprawled-out figure on the bed. She'd been in such a frantic race to get home, to get to a place where she could just breathe without being accused of something or being smothered in lies that one of her legs and one of her arms were dangling from the bed, and she didn't look like she cared. If she wasn't going through a lot of pain, he would have normally thought the sight was funny and cute. But she was in pain, so he carefully tucked himself in the space left on her bed, waiting for her to start talking, if she wanted to. If she didn't, then that was okay. He'd still be there for her to hug or groan in frustration to or rant to about fashion or video games. Whatever she needed him for, he would be there.

"Did you know that I've apparently been bullying Lila on Instagram for weeks?" Marinette scoffed, sitting up with a bit of her fire rekindled. "Never mind that the screenshots she has to 'prove' that could have easily been faked or that I blocked her account months ago."

"What kind of stuff were 'you' saying?" he asked, making sure to use air quotes so she knew he didn't even think she was capable of such a thing.

Marinette groaned. "Conveniently, it's the same kind of stuff she's been saying to me whenever she corners me alone in the hallways. 'I'm going to turn all your friends against you and ruin your life and blow up the fucking moon or some shit.'"

Luka's lips quirked into a wary smile despite himself. Whenever his cute little cream puff started swearing up a storm, it was hard not to smile at the juxtaposition of her adorable demeanor and the words she said. "Well, we have a weekend. Wanna get some ice cream today and catch a movie tomorrow to de-stress?"

With a deep breath, Marinette forced herself to forget her resentment for a moment as she turned her full attention to the adoring look in Luka's eyes. Forget what she said about the rough year - she really lucked out with him. He was a bright spot in all the darkness clouding around her, and ever since Adrien had told Marinette to leave Lila's lies, well, she would have to admit that she'd long since lost feelings for the blond. 

Luka wasn't a rebound or a second choice to her, though, and he knew it. After Lila began trying to ruin Marinette's reputation, he went straight to Marinette when Juleka mentioned it. Of course, Juleka had been trying to gently warn Luka away from a girl she believed to be attacking her classmate out of jealousy over Adrien, but Luka knew as soon as he saw Marinette looking completely defeated that she wasn't the offender in the situation. He asked her what was going on, and she opened up about how she felt impossibly weighed down to be perfect and not say or do anything that might give more weight to Lila's accusations, and how even then, Lila managed to make almost everyone believe her. Even Alya, the person who used to call Marinette her best friend. So, Luka took it upon himself to be around for her.

And they were still just friends for a good period. They'd text a lot and meet up at school whenever they could. Before he knew it, they were going on walks or eating at cafes when they had free time. Then, he asked her to go to the movies with him. After that, his mother had jokingly referred to Marinette as his girlfriend, and when Luka was about to correct her, Marinette smiled and held his hand.

It was good, they agreed. Luka didn't have many friends either, being an introvert, so they both had someone they could talk to and rely on. Especially when it came to their hobbies; Marinette would join him on the Liberty sometimes with her sketchbook while he played a couple of songs he was working on. Though he was now a solo act, considering that he and the rest of Kitty Section were currently divided about Marinette. Suffice it to say that dinners on the Couffaine houseboat recently became entrenched in silence.

He knew Marinette was torn up about that, but he made it clear that as long as she would be okay with him complaining about it once in a while when it frustrated him, it wasn't something for her to worry about. Juleka made her choice, and Luka made his.

He just wished they'd made the same choice.

"Yeah, ice cream sounds pretty good," she finally answered. "We have to celebrate your good score on that Algebra test this week, after all."

Of course, she'd find something good to think about. Allowing himself a moment of pride, he nodded to her and added, "And your amazing commission for Clara Nightingale."

"Can't forget about that." Finally, her smile reached her eyes. They got up and started to leave, but before Luka opened the hatch to the apartment, Marinette stopped him with a sudden hug. "Thank you. I feel like I don't say it enough, but you mean a lot to me."

Already used to her abrupt shows of affection, Luka wrapped his arms around her. "I know. You mean a lot to me too, _mon chou."_

Her embrace tightened at the pet-name. "Now I don't want to let you go."

"Oh, no! But the ice cream!" he dramatically complained, knowing the game she was playing.

"Hm... maybe I'll let you go if you give me your hoodie."

"Deal."

In a few minutes, they were walking down the street hand-in-hand, with her wrapped up in his hoodie. She had a fascination with the article of clothing that even she had to admit was a little nonsensical, but it was so soft and warm, it was like a constant caress from the owner himself. Plus, it smelled like him - like sandalwood, cinnamon, and vanilla. (She tried to convince herself that the last two scents weren't attributed to the fact that he spent a lot of time in the bakery as of late and even started helping out just because he wanted to, but she hadn't yet managed to.)

"Are we looking for Andre, or will any ice cream do?" she asked, knowing that she wouldn't be able to convince Luka not to look for the absolute best ice cream when his mind was set on it. He had a tendency to stick to his plans no matter what.

Chuckling, Luka said, "Do you even need to ask? I heard from one of my classmates that he was by the Seine again."

"Okay, but if we don't see him there, I vote that we get some grocery store ice cream and enjoy it indoors."

Marinette always seemed to have a contingency plan for everything nowadays, being cautious to take into account things that might not even happen. She'd even started carrying all of her school possessions in her bag since her locker still hadn't been fixed from when it was tampered with earlier in the term. She couldn't let herself get relaxed because she knew that the moment she did, someone or something else would catch her off-guard again.

"Sounds like a plan."

And so, they walked in pleasant silence apart from Luka's soft and occasional humming, a light little melody. It was moments like these where Marinette wondered what it would be like to hear Luka sing. He had such a lovely and warm voice when speaking that she thought his singing voice would _absolutely_ melt her into a puddle of goo.

...Come to think of it, it was probably for the best that he never unleashed his full power.

Just as she was considering the consequences of Luka's probably magical and sirenlike voice, she caught sight of Andre's ice cream cart and - for lack of a better word - froze. Strangely, Adrien and Kagami were there, talking with the vendor. Didn't they have fencing practice...?

Oh. They must have snuck out, just like that time at the Bourgeois party. 

Her heart pounded at the memory. She wasn't upset or bitter about any of it - she'd already lost feelings for Adrien - but she'd had a lot of fun that day. It was enough to make her think that maybe Adrien really was in her corner, and so was Kagami. Then, she went back to school, and Adrien was still quiet in her suffering while Kagami had either stood by him or was clueless about what was going on.

Then, Marinette had the idea that maybe Kagami wouldn't care either way.

Marinette squeezed Luka's hand, and he followed her line of sight. "We can get the grocery store ice cream if you want."

She was just about to agree when Kagami's keen eyes landed on her, and the girl waved surprisingly excitedly from her place at Adrien's side. A flutter of hope tickled Marinette's chest, and she found herself saying, "It's okay. We already came all this way."

Meanwhile, Luka shot his trademark death glare Adrien's way. When he heard about what Adrien had said to Marinette about not exposing Lila so as not to cause another akuma, Luka himself had been surprised when he saw no purple butterflies in his immediate vicinity. It absolutely infuriated him that he thought it 'wouldn't hurt anyone' to let her lies go on, that all that 'mattered' was that he and Marinette knew. In reality, it was plain to see that it was hurting Marinette!

It was no surprise that by the time Marinette and Luka got over to the ice cream cart, Adrien excused himself to go call someone. After all, few people could withstand the rage of a Couffaine for long.

"Hey, Marinette!" Kagami chirped. "And... Luka, right?"

"Yep," Luka nodded, his eyes flicking over to Adrien every so often to seeth in the blond's direction.

"It feels like it's been forever since we saw each other," Kagami sighed. "And then Miracle Fox happened."

Nodding, Marinette agreed, "It was a wild day. How've you been?"

"Really well. Adrien and I have managed to get away with a bit more since then because we each come from such good families that neither of our parents sees any real reason to separate us." She paused, taking in Marinette's far-away gaze and the dark circles under her eyes. "And you?"

"Oh, I'm fine." She tilted her head to rub her cheek against Luka's arm with a laugh. "I have this cutie to pick me up during my lows."

Luka grinned down at her with a glint of mischief in his eyes, but before he could say it, Marinette raised her free hand and interrupted knowingly, "Not literally. I'd like my feet to remain on the ground, unlike last time."

After Luka jokingly grumbled to himself, Kagami caught onto Marinette's words. "Lows? Are you sure you're fine?"

Truthfully, Kagami had noticed Marinette's absence among Adrien's friends when they found time to hang out together. Any time she asked Adrien about it, he always somehow managed to get cut off by someone saying that Marinette was busy. If Kagami didn't know any better, she might have thought that Marinette was just trying to avoid her.

But here was the girl in front of her now, albeit looking very nervous.

"Yeah, it's just..." Marinette struggled to find some general source of worry to blame her problems on. She couldn't find it within her to bring up Lila to Kagami because she was one of the few people still being genuinely nice. If she talked about the gossip and rumors, maybe all that would change. It wasn't really worth the risk. "The Miracle Fox debacle. It really worried me that I lo--- Ladybug and Chat Noir lost basically all their allies."

Though she narrowed her eyes at Marinette, Kagami seemed to accept this with a nod. "It was lucky that Queen Bee came in. We'd be standing in a very different Paris without Chloé Bourgeois."

Marinette nodded, not even needing to pretend to be solemn. Chloé had been a real lifesaver that day. Even though Marinette messed up in her haste to get a Miraculous ally, at least she'd chosen well with the Bee. Chloé was able to paralyze Lila to grab the Fox Miraculous and the Miracle Box for Ladybug before the liar ran off with both.

"Well, I think I've taken up enough of your time," Kagami chuckled, retreating as she sensed she'd interrupted the couple's plans. A part of her was disappointed that Adrien hadn't come back from his call yet to talk, but it would be rude to keep them from Andre any longer. "The ice cream is extra good today. I can't explain it, but Andre somehow managed to make it even better than perfect."

"Sounds awesome!" chimed Marinette. "See you around?"

In the middle of her retreat back to Adrien, Kagami stopped herself. She took out her phone. "Actually, I should just ask for your number. I don't know why I haven't yet. That way, we can talk about anything at any time."

Marinette's blue eyes went wide at the offer like she was surprised that Kagami still wanted to talk to her. "Sure!"

As soon as Kagami added Marinette to her contact list, she sent a quick message so that Marinette had her number, too. "Can't wait to get to know you even better, Marinette. It was nice to see you."

At that, Marinette felt ready to burst into tears. It had been so long since interaction with someone besides Luka and her family had ended on a positive note. While she put Kagami into her contacts, she couldn't help but feel like maybe there was a limit to Lila's reach. 

And maybe things could even turn around soon.


	2. Win Some, Lose Some

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one mostly has a lot of narration and introspection to it, but the next chapter will involve more dialogue and the beginning of the "Protect Marinette" Squad I mentioned in the tags. 
> 
> Also, if anyone's interested, I was really on the fence about Marinette's designer pseudonym. I know a lot of fics use her initials, MDC, so I wanted to try to be a little original (not to diss the fics that do because if I'm being honest, I've imagined cute brand logos with her initials while reading those fics). The choice came down to the French for "Ladybug," "Red Lady," or "Pink Lady," because I wanted to make slight reference to her hero alter ego in her designing alter ego. I ended up choosing Dame Rouge because while pink is Marinette's favorite color, there's an alcoholic drink called "pink lady." I wasn't sure if Marinette would take advantage of that fact so that people would think it's an adult designer so much as she'd probably steer clear of that association because it would give the vibe that she only designs for adults. Plus, I asked my friend, and she agreed.
> 
> Anyway! I hope you like this chapter regardless of how introspection-heavy it is, and I'll be getting right to work on the next one.

Fridays always felt freeing to Marinette, like the same kind of relief a person feels when they finally get to rest their head on a pillow after a long day. Saturdays were usually when she was her best, partly because she _had_ gotten a good night's sleep the night before. And Sundays had a tinge of mournfulness because she knew she'd be getting back to feeling isolated while surrounded by people she used to trust.

But this particular Sunday, Marinette got up with a newfound spring in her step. She even woke up pretty early - she only had to snooze her alarm once! 

Tikki zipped around Marinette excitedly while watching her Chosen get her latest commission finished up. "You're certainly cheery, Marinette! What's got you smiling? I want to know, just in case it's something I can make sure happens again!"

Marinette smiled when her kwami landed on the shoulder of the dress she was working on. "I feel like my luck's going to change, Tikki. Kagami texted me a lot yesterday, Luka sent me a video of him playing a few chords this morning, and it'll only be a few hours before I finish up with Clara's dress!"

Only a couple of weeks ago, Jagged Stone surprised Marinette by FaceTiming her to let her know that Clara Nightingale was looking for a new designer to make her a unique dress. Jagged went out of his way to personally recommend his designer, Dame Rouge, to Clara before realizing he hadn't cleared it with the lady herself and wanted to ask if it was okay. Of course, Marinette was over the moon at the news until Jagged said Clara was extremely interested in meeting Dame Rouge in person.

The problem was, Marinette decided to start working under such a pseudonym specifically because she didn't want any of her classmates to know about the opportunities she'd taken advantage of and ruin them for her. If she met Clara Nightingale at a public place, like at Le Grand Paris or even a cafe down the street, there was always the chance she could be spotted and outed by someone. She didn't want to take the risk, and Jagged took this into account before saying he'd handle it.

Next thing she knew, she was making herself breakfast the morning after and caught three unfamiliar people walking up into her apartment from the bakery. She was about to ask if they got confused in the bakery before dropping the bowl in her hands at the realization that they were Jagged, Penny Rolling, and Clara Nightingale - all in disguise. Jagged had pulled his hair into a low and messy bun and wore a plain pullover and jeans, which seemed bizarre for his typically flashy style. Penny wore large sunglasses and a beanie to cover up part of her face and her bright hair. Meanwhile, Clara looked quite excited to wear a short black wig and a long, tan overcoat. 

Penny had looked down at the dropped dish and said, "I told you surprising Marinette wasn't going to work out."

Nervously laughing, Marinette picked up the (thankfully) plastic bowl and grabbed a couple of paper towels to clean up what had spilled. Following that, she immediately sat down with all three of them to get the details settled. Clara had recognized Marinette from the music video Clara had wanted Marinette to be involved in and agreed to keep her identity secret unless Marinette requested otherwise. By the time the celebrities left, Marinette had a sketch of the dress with a pair of shoes to match that was joyously approved by Clara.

"Oh, Marinette, I can't wait to see the final dress," Clara had said on their way back downstairs. "I know you'll do great since Jagged says you're the best!"

Grinning to herself at the memory, Marinette said to Tikki while finishing up a seam, "Tomorrow, I might get put through the wringer in school, but today, I'm going to enjoy myself. I might as well while I can."

Tikki shared Marinette's smile, but her eyes were sad. Throughout her long life, there were moments where Tikki really wished she could be a human, just so that she could give her Chosen big hugs or stand up for them against non-Miraculous threats. Some of her previous Holders may not have even needed such support when she was with them, but it would still be nice. As it was, the best she could do was encourage Marinette when they weren't dealing with akumas, empower her while they were Ladybug, and hope that Ladybug's confidence would trickle over into Marinette's daily life.

"Well, if there's any way I can help you finish up this dress, just let me know!" Tikki chirped, smoothing one of her hands over the fabric on the shoulder.

"I'll be sure to, Tikki."

~

When Lila Rossi told Marinette Dupain-Cheng that she'd ruin her life, Marinette honestly shrugged it off by the next week. She had enough confidence in her friends to know that it would be impossible for them to be turned against her.

After the expulsion, her confidence broke. A lot. Even when it was expunged and her name was cleared, the fact that so many of her classmates (as well as her teacher and principal) believed that Marinette could be a thief shattered her faith in them, especially when they looked at her as if with eyes that had never fallen on her. She couldn't confirm it for sure, but Marinette wondered if Lila had started planting false ideas in their classmates' heads about her, even after the incident, because sure enough, everyone still looked at her strangely. Like _she_ was a stranger, not this new girl who came in and won everyone's attention with false claims to fame. 

It wasn't such a surprise when people started canceling plans on Marinette. They'd say something along the lines of, "Oh, I know I said I'd be able to go to the movies, but Lila says she needs my help to study for a test, so I have to help her. You get it, right?" And she would tell them she did, but when she later asked that same person if they still wanted her to work on a design they asked her for, babysit those siblings they begged her to take on, or bring those bakery treats they asked about earlier in the week, they moved quickly to make sure she knew that yes, they did still want her to do that. So, because she had a kind heart, she did everything they asked, just like before. But she did it with caution.

Then people started leaving her out of plans. The initial excuses had to do with how busy she was, how they thought her family might need her in the bakery that weekend since it was a holiday and they'd need the extra pair of hands, or even that they thought they'd already asked her. 

Alya was the one who really said what was on her mind, and she was the final straw for Marinette. 

It was on a Monday weeks ago, which was part of the reason Marinette _hated_ Mondays so much. Beyond the fact that they meant that she had to return to school, they were a reminder of what she lost because Mondays meant recounts of the weekend. 

After Alya went out with Lila to eat and hang out, Alya told Marinette about it during lunch, and though Marinette had mostly learned to swallow the bitter pill that was Alya's friendship with Lila, a certain phrase had snapped the last bit of patience Marinette had.

"You _really_ should have been there, Mari!"

Without looking up from her salad, Marinette forced nonchalance into her voice and said, "Then you _really_ should have invited me."

Alya stiffened. Where Marinette had been dealing with people treating her this way for weeks now and was used to it, Alya wasn't at all used to the tinge of hurt in Marinette's tone, and she went on the defensive. "Well, I thought you'd be busy."

"You thought I was busy?" Marinette scoffed, finally looking up. "Me, but not Lila, who, to hear her tell it, constantly travels, meets and hangs out with celebrities, and does hundreds of hours of community service on the side on top of school work? Sure."

"This is why we didn't want to invite you." Alya shook her head and rolled her eyes. "You're always hostile towards Lila when she's been nothing but nice to you. You act like she's some villain when really, she's just interesting and amazingly reliable."

That last word cut Marinette deep. She knew she slept through her alarm a lot, and she never really went through with confessing her feelings to Adrien. But other than that, she'd always done her best to follow through on things. In fact, she was quite proud of the fact that whenever someone needed her, she came through, especially when it wasn't just _someone,_ it was all of Paris.

"Are you saying I'm not reliable?"

"Sometimes, yes!"

Packing up her lunch, Marinette had nodded and put on a mask of false agreement. Sarcastically, she said, "You're so right. It's not like I put my own dress on hold before the spring ball this year just because you asked and then delivered your dress three days ahead of schedule. For free! It's not like I've canceled plans or pushed things back in my own schedule to help you with your sisters or even take care of them by myself. Yeah, I'm such a flake, Alya." 

Watching as her friend started to pull back, Alya suddenly got the sense that she'd made a mistake. She tried to interject, "Mari, that's not what I mean---"

"But it's what you said." Standing up, Marinette slung her backpack over her shoulders. "I can make it easier for you, Alya. You don't have to lie to me anymore. You don't have to go out of your way not to invite me anywhere. You don't even have to be my friend." Turning, she said over her shoulder, "And I think I'd prefer it if you did just stop all of those things rather than stay in the middle about it."

Shocked at Marinette's words and the pain in them, Alya couldn't find it within herself to get up and chase after Marinette. Truth was, Alya was caught in between believing Lila's words and supporting Marinette, but she couldn't in good conscience do both. 

So, Marinette wouldn't ask her to.

And maybe she had acted rashly, and maybe she could have stuck it out longer, but deep down, she'd known for a while that Alya was a lost cause. Even if it weren't for the Miracle Fox incident revealing most of her team's identities, Marinette was unable to trust someone who was so indecisive about something so cut and dry. It was bordering on cowardice.

Still, she had to keep reminding herself of this to help her rationalize the choice. Alya had always been nice to Marinette, and she was hilarious, though a bit pushy sometimes about Marinette's past feelings for Adrien. It was hard to see her every day and know that they'd drifted apart.

But then, the Monday after Marinette had the naive thought that things might turn around, she'd left a notebook behind in Mlle. Bustier's class. Honestly, she should have been more careful. With all she carried around nowadays to avoid using her locker, she started holding some of her books and notebooks to ease the strain on her back. The one she left behind wasn't one of her design sketchbooks, thankfully, but she _did_ need it back because it had some of her messier Biology notes that she usually redid at home, as well as the notes to some melodies Luka wrote while staying at her house after school. Even though she couldn't read sheet music, she liked looking at the melodies and trying to figure out which matched with the one stuck in her head sometimes when she thought about him. It was nice to keep a little creation of his with her.

After she finished eating her lunch, she still had time, so she went back to Mlle. Bustier's room and headed to the back row where she'd been exiled for a while. When she looked under her chair, she saw and picked up the notebook, but a scrap of paper fell out. Shocked, Marinette lifted the notebook towards herself slower, as if by the speed with which she moved, she could deny the truth about what had happened. No such luck. Opening the notebook, she found that it had been ruined. Pages were clearly torn out, some ripped to shreds and folded back in, and others, especially the ones with Luka's sheet music, had been stained with _something_ and were damp. The ink was now just a blurry blue mess on the pages. 

Marinette scrunched her nose at these pages. She thought they smelled like... no. No, it couldn't be. 

She sniffed the paper cautiously. It smelled like Mme. Césaire's soup.


	3. On the Defensive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagami finds out about what Marinette's been going through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is sort of a side-note, but one time, one of my teachers who also teaches Japanese mentioned that Japanese people are typically extremely kind and it's very hard to insult someone in Japanese, so I have a sort of headcanon that when Kagami is really angry, she has a harder time insulting someone than she would if she were just slightly irritated. This is why there are a couple times in this chapter where she either doesn't really say a full insult or struggles to come up with one.

When Marinette walked into the girls' bathroom, she looked around to make sure she was alone. Her eyes started to sting with tears building up, and she slapped the notebook against her free hand in frustration. With an exhausted groan, she said, "I'm so tired of this, Tikki."

"What happened?" asked the kwami, poking her head out of Marinette's bag with concern filling her eyes.

"Alya or Lila or someone else - I don't really care who - must have grabbed my notebook and ripped the pages out and stained them." Stamping her foot, Marinette shook her head ruefully. "I hate this. I hate not saying anything or doing anything, and I hate being this powerless!"

Tikki flew out of Marinette's purse and rose to cradle her Chosen's face affectionately. "I'm sorry, Marinette. But you can pull through. If there's anyone who can do this, it's you! After all, you're a hero, even without the mask."

Marinette tried for a smile and failed, her lips quivering while she tried to keep it together. She looked in the mirror and forced herself to try to calm down and stop crying before it became noticeable. "You know, I really thought I was for a while, but it seems like my class is hellbent on treating me like a---" Her eyes caught onto movement in the corner of the reflection, and she whipped around. A dark purple butterfly fluttered its way to her. "A villain."

Gritting her teeth, she clutched the notebook to her chest. "But you know what? I _will_ get through this! No matter how hopeless I feel, there are always alternatives that aren't destructive, and I don't need to rely on revenge or anger to solve my problems."

The butterfly stopped short of sinking into the notebook, and as it started flying away, Marinette said, "Tikki, spots on!"

Once she was transformed, she grabbed her yo-yo to cleanse the Akuma and send it off, just to make sure Lila wouldn't grab this one if it passed by her again. Marinette was _so_ not in the mood for a fight against an Akuma, especially not if it were Lila.

"Bye-bye, little butterfly," she sighed, watching the pristine little insect flutter off through the same wall it came through. "Spots off."

When Tikki emerged from Marinette's earrings, Marinette looked at her with tired eyes. She turned to put the notebook away in her bag, resolving to tell Luka about it later while admitting, "And this annoys me, too. I love being Ladybug, but having to hype myself up again every time I get a little too emotional and a little too vulnerable just feels like I'm forcing myself not to feel bad, like I'm ignoring my problems."

Tikki floated before with crossed arms and pursed lips for a moment before she suggested, "Then don't ignore them. Feel what you have to feel. Let it out with me. I'll protect you from akumas."

Marinette couldn't stop herself from smiling at the heroic pose Tikki struck in front of her. "Thank you, Tikki. You've been amazing through all of this, and being Ladybug is nothing compared to being your friend. I love you."

"Don't start," Tikki chuckled, cradling Marinette's face as tears finally started sliding down, "or I'll start crying, too."

Marinette laughed softly as she raised her hands to hold Tikki. She let out a sigh of relief and continued to let herself cry a little. It helped her feel just a touch better, and right now, she'd take anything she could get. 

But then the door to the bathroom opened. Tikki whizzed out of her hands and into her bag, and Marinette turned to the sink in front of her to wash her hands and hide her face. 

"Marinette?" Unfortunately, it just had to be Kagami who walked in. And of course, she noticed the tears. "What's wrong?"

As she turned off the faucet, Marinette shook her head. "Nothing. I'm fine."

Unconvinced, Kagami frowned at the girl before her. Her gaze looked sad on Marinette's behalf, and it just made Marinette feel worse. "I know we haven't known each other long or talked very much, but you can talk to me whenever something's bothering you. I'd really like to be there for you because you're there for everyone else," she let herself smile as she added, "even a couple of spoiled rich kids like Adrien and me."

Evidently, this sentiment did not help an already over-emotional Marinette avoid crying again. "Kagami, that's so nice of you to say! You don't know how long it's been since someone was kind to me in school besides Luka."

Uh-oh. She'd really just let that slip, huh?

Kagami looked like she was about to ask, but then the bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch period. She frowned before looking to the stalls. "You should go to class, but I want to talk to you as soon as possible."

Eager to get away from this conversation, Marinette was already on her way out of the bathroom. "See you, Kagami."

"See you."

~

"Marinette!"

Kagami raced to catch up to the girl, her eyes trained on the pink cardigan as she darted between the throng of students anxious to get out of the school. Marinette glanced back at the shout of her name, and when she met Kagami's eyes, she caught the fiery determination in them and didn't know whether to stay or run. Her instincts said to run, though, so she hustled to get out and across the street.

Luka caught up with her first, unaware of Marinette's desperation to avoid talking to Kagami as well as Kagami's desire to help Marinette. "Hey, cream puff, what's up?"

Faltering for a moment, Marinette reached forward and grabbed his hand so that she could drag him with her. "I'll explain later---"

"Marinette," Kagami called again as she finally made it. "Glad I caught up to you. You move surprisingly quickly, you know?"

Mentally, Marinette joked to herself that she'd had a lot of practice avoiding difficult conversations, whether it was someone getting close to finding out that she was Ladybug or the entire situation with Lila.

Nervous, she asked, "Hey, Kagami. Don't you have fencing practice today?"

Kagami furrowed her eyebrows like she was slightly affronted by the idea that fencing practice was more important than this. "I can miss some practice if it means I make sure you're okay."

Picking up on the concern in Kagami's voice, Luka asked, "What happened, Mari?"

"Nothing, it's fine---" Marinette stopped short when they both gave her a look that meant she couldn't just keep deflecting and pretending that nothing was wrong. She honestly planned on telling Luka after school - after all, it was _his_ sheet music that had been ruined, too - but she didn't account for Kagami.

Finally, she relented, muttering, "Follow me. I don't want my parents or anyone else hearing this."

So, she was going to do the very thing she'd been so grateful that no one had yet done by telling Kagami about Lila's lies and how her class so blithely believed her. Luka must have sensed her tension because he squeezed her hand gently as they crossed the street and again as Sabine and Tom greeted Marinette, Luka, and the apparent "new friend" that Marinette's parents had yet to really meet. She spent up until all three of them made it into her room and settled down, Kagami on Marinette's work chair with Marinette and Luka on the chaise, steeling herself for what she was going to say. She'd be as honest and neutral as she could about everything, admitting her faults when she could. Maybe by the end of it, Kagami wouldn't even hate her!

She started off by taking out the notebook from her bag. When she opened it, she saw that the pages were still a little damp. A few of the drier shreds fell out onto the floor.

"I left a notebook in Mme. Bustier's class before history, and by the end of lunch, this is what had happened to it," she said, frowning. "And the next period was Bustier's free period, so I don't think it was a student from another class."

Kagami scooted her chair closer to the notebook, scrunching her nose. "What's that smell?"

"Lime juice, garlic, pepper, and a few of the other staples in Mme. Césaire's trademark fish soup."

Luka's nostrils flared in anger, and he glared at the notebook as Marinette passed it to him. "Those idiots!"

"You mean Alya?" Kagami asked, almost as if she had to make sure. "Why would she do this? She's your best friend."

"She _was,"_ Marinette said, reluctant to explain any further. She didn't have to, though, because Luka carried on just fine by himself.

"Until she made an ass out of herself by believing every lie that comes out of Lila's mouth and pushing Marinette away until they split apart for good," he remarked, surveying the damage done to his sheet music. "Damn it."

Kagami's voice was strangely hollow as she said, "Lila Rossi?"

Marinette nodded, unsure if that tone was disbelief that Lila could ever do such a thing or understanding of what Lila had done. 

Scoffing, Kagami leaned back in the chair and scrubbed at her face. "That lying---" She sat forward again and reached out for the notebook, which Luka handed over without question, eager to have someone else who got as angry as he did about this situation. "This is vandalism, you know. Whoever was directly responsible for this and whoever assisted them or stood by while it happened should be punished heavily for their lack of honor, and so should anyone else who believes that--- that _vulture's_ lies!"

Even though she knew deep down that Kagami was right, Marinette had had Adrien's words to take the high road etched in her brain alongside every time in primary school that a teacher told Marinette not to "tattle" on Chloé for any of the blonde's offenses. She was so tired by now that even though every dig someone had against her made her upset, it didn't take long for her to just give up on it. It happened with XY, and it would happen with Lila again and again.

Shrugging, Marinette took the notebook back. "I don't really care. Lila's just going to spin the whole situation her way. I say she lied about me stealing her property, cheating on a test, and pushing her down a set of stairs so I could be expelled, and even when the truth comes out, she says she has a disease that makes her lie. I say she did this, even with proof to back me up, and she'll probably say she has _another_ disease that makes her do things she doesn't want to or isn't aware of. I'm done trying to fight."

"The girl _is_ diseased, but it's not tinnitus or whatever lying sickness she made up afterwards," Luka said, still scowling at the notebook. 

Kagami pursed her lips, shaking her head in confusion. "She got you expelled?"

"Yeah, and I was so confused and angry, I nearly got akumatized, too," Marinette lamented. "And that wasn't even the first or last time."

She scoffed, brushing her hands through her hair until she pulled out her hair ties. A headache was starting to brew from thinking about all of this. It took her a good minute before she realized that Kagami and Luka were gaping at her.

"What?" she asked.

"You've almost been akumatized at least three times?" asked Luka, apparently aghast. "And you resisted all three times?"

"I didn't do a very good job the second time, considering Hawkmoth almost got my ea---" she stammered for a moment before correcting, "my allegiance."

Stricken, Luka looked her over with wide cerulean eyes before he reached up to tuck a bit of her hair behind her ear, his thumb brushing against her earlobe. 

"Still," said Kagami pensively, "resisting _twice_ shows great strength and control. That's very impressive, Marinette." She picked at the spaces between her fingers nervously before she continued, "But it still makes me think you should take some kind of action against Lila. What happens if you don't win out the fourth time, or the fifth?"

 _Hawkmoth would win, and Paris would fall,_ Marinette thought to herself. But she couldn't say that out loud. She just shrugged again. "It's not worth doing anything about. If Lila gets exposed, then _she'll_ just be the akumatized one. Again."

This sentiment infuriated Kagami, who burst out with, "Fuck Lila! You matter, too. You're genuinely upset and troubled by all of this, and all you can do is think about her? Why?"

Marinette swallowed thickly, almost as if she could gulp down the answer. She didn't want to lie, but this time, the truth was a bitter pill to swallow.

"Adrien told Marinette not to do anything." Closing his eyes so he wouldn't have to see the scared look on Marinette's face, Luka explained, "He knows about all of Lila's lies and has seen firsthand how the class has been isolating Marinette, but he doesn't want to expose Lila because he figures she's not hurting anyone. 

In disbelief, he repeated, "She's not hurting anyone! Just because Marinette's notebook gets ruined and she almost gets expelled and she fights with all her friends---"

Cutting himself off, he opened his eyes again to chance a look at his girlfriend. He expected her to look upset or nervous that he was telling Kagami all of this, but she instead had a look of resignation, like she was finally starting to agree with all the times Luka reassured her that Marinette wasn't the one in the wrong throughout all of this.

"She hurt me," Marinette finally acknowledged, looking down at her lap. "And I've followed Adrien and her a couple of times to see what kind of lies she spews to him, and I know that's wrong. But she lied to everyone in our class about connections that she can't back up. She's taking advantage of privileges given to the disabled when she doesn't have any disabilities, injuries, or sicknesses." With her voice trembling, she finished, "And she told the entire class that I was threatening her and telling her that everyone would be better off if she wasn't around when she was the one saying that to me. I made mistakes in this, I know. But she hurt _me."_

Kagami's expression was strangely soft when Marinette looked up to her with wet bluebell eyes. She surprised Marinette by getting up from the chair and awkwardly putting her arms around her. "I'm sorry you've had to go through this." The sorrow in her voice urged Marinette to hug her back, so she shoved her fear of losing Kagami's friendship away and returned the embrace. "If you change your mind about going directly after Lila, or even everyone in that class, I'll help you and do everything in my power to make sure they pay. But for now, if you want, I think I can get you out of that class."

Pulling back, Marinette asked, "Get me out? But---"

"Your classmates vandalized your property and almost got you akumatized three times," Luka said, trying to get Marinette to understand the severity of the situation. "Yesterday, I would have thought this was a little bit extreme, too, but you didn't tell me about those akumas, and they hadn't done this to your notebook yet. Please, _mon chou,_ you need to leave this toxic class behind so you can start feeling better."

Looking between him and Kagami, Marinette weighed the options. She could either stay where she was and hope the class would come to their senses soon or move elsewhere. But then she felt movement in her purse, and she remembered that this decision wasn't just about her well-being. If Lila crossed another line... If Marinette couldn't get herself to pep up quickly enough... If Ladybug lost her earrings to Hawkmoth...

So, she took a deep breath and sighed, "Okay. Kagami, I would really appreciate it if you could help me transfer out of Mlle. Bustier's class."


	4. Taking Action

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are three very important things to understand about the Tsurugi family. 
> 
> 1\. A Tsurugi will always make a person aware of his or her shortcomings so he or she can improve.  
> 2\. There is no stopping a Tsurugi when they've made up their mind on something.  
> 3\. No friend of a Tsurugi would ever be left to suffer hardship alone.
> 
> And Kagami is only too happy to keep to her family traditions this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's kind of short-ish for what I'd be satisfied with in a chapter, but most of this draft has been sitting in my Google Keep for a while, so if I don't post it soon, it may never get posted otherwise!

"Of course I'll help you," said Kagami, smiling slightly due to Marinette's agreement. She looked at her watch--- it was already 10 minutes after dismissal, so fencing practice must have started up already... but M. Damocles would be heading out a bit before the end of practice. "I should get back over to the school now, but you should tell your parents what's going on. When I'm at practice, I'll see if I can catch M. Damocles for a moment to arrange a meeting as soon as possible. I'll text you after practice about that."

Even though Marinette was worried about the suddenness of it all, she nodded, aware at this point of the fact that this was something that had to change quickly. "Thank you. You have no idea how much it means to me."

"Don't worry about it." Opening the hatch to the apartment downstairs, Kagami shrugged and explained, "I told you I wanted to be there for you! I just wish I could have helped weeks ago."

With that, she headed downstairs.

Marinette said in the quiet that followed, "Me too."

"Me three." Sighing in relief, Luka wrapped his arm around Marinette's waist and buried his face in the crook of her neck. "I'll help you explain everything to Tom and Sabine after we finish our homework and they close up the bakery?"

Nodding, Marinette turned her head to kiss Luka's head while squeezing his hand again.

Meanwhile, Kagami stormed back over to Collège Françoise Dupont, fueled by a new kind of vitriol. The same girl that caused Kagami to be akumatized a second time was hurting Marinette? And Adrien knew but did _nothing_ besides tell Marinette not to expose her lies? She scoffed to herself as she changed after explaining to the instructor that she'd been held up by a school project. Oh, Adrien would _not_ escape a talk about this.

"Hey, Kagami."

Speak of the passive devil.

She walked out of the changing room with her mask under her arm while she put her gloves on, glaring at the boy who so gleefully greeted her. "Adrien." With that, she put her mask on and gripped her foil. "You and I need to have a talk after this practice."

Though he hesitated at her icy tone, Adrien suggested, "We can talk during practice if it's urgent."

"No, we can't," she said, raising her foil. "It's a matter that requires your full attention, as does our sparring. Especially today. _En garde!"_

She barely gave him enough time to get in a defensive position before she struck, putting her all into this battle. Ever since she was akumatized (the first time), she threw all of her negative emotions into her combat, letting them fuel her movements and ferocity.

None of her matches against Adrien lasted more than a few minutes this afternoon, which meant either she was _really_ on her game, he was really thrown off by her tone, or both.

Honestly, Adrien couldn't tell what had gotten Kagami this riled up, and he was a little surprised that she wasn't akumatized over whatever it was. After all, the only other times he'd seen her let something get under her skin this much resulted in the Riposte and Oni-Chan akumas. Still, he figured that whatever it was, it would be fine as long as they discussed it. Everything always worked out in the end with a little bit of communication, after all.

So, at the end of practice, when Kagami was waiting outside the girls' changing room with all her gear packed away, he walked over to her and asked, "What’s on your mind?” 

“Marinette.” Kagami clasped her hands together, furrowing her brow as she bit her lip. She looked more anxious than he’d ever seen her - a bundle of worry and concern - and the sight gave Adrien chills. “You know that Italian girl in your class lies constantly, including when she makes accusations about Marinette, correct?” 

This honestly wasn't where he was expecting the conversation to go. He knew Kagami wasn't a fan of Lila after the way Lila sent Kagami a picture of her kissing Adrien, but Kagami never said much after the fact. “Yes. I---” 

Without giving him a moment to make a passive bullshit explanation, Kagami interrupted, “Marinette wanted to continue to call Lila out, but you told her not to, correct?” 

“Yes. It would have---” 

“You said you worried about Lila being akumatized if she were called out and that she wasn’t hurting anyone by lying, correct?” 

“Where is this going?” 

She looked up then, eyes directly on him and burning with rage. Her fidgeting was put to a halt as she threw her hands to her sides and clenched them into fists. “And you never once considered that Lila would hurt Marinette, correct? Did you ever even think that Marinette might be akumatized under the stress?” 

Adrien’s blood went cold. Stammering, he scratched the back of his head while he tried to come up with an answer. To be honest, he never considered Marinette would ever be an akuma victim. After all, she was the class's everyday Ladybug, and there was no way Ladybug would ever fall for Hawkmoth's manipulation.

Noting his hesitation and confusion, Kagami sighed, “What were you thinking?” 

He shrugged helplessly. “That it was the best solution.” 

“The best?" She raised an eyebrow and challengingly asked, "Or the easiest?” 

“I wanted to avoid conflict. Marinette wasn’t helping herself by trying to show how Lila was lying.” 

She really wasn't. Lila had already been akumatized once by Ladybug's insistence on making sure people knew the truth, and Adrien wasn't looking forward to repeating akumas.

“You wanted to avoid conflict?" Kagami laughed, but there wasn't any humor to her voice. It didn't sound anything like the normal light laugh Adrien was used to--- it was cooler, more derisive. "Tell that to Marinette and Alya, who aren't even friends anymore. The world doesn’t work in perfect harmony all the time, Adrien. Conflict is unavoidable, and to stay silent for the sake of avoiding it is pointless, cowardly, and foolish.” 

“Why are you getting mad at me when Lila’s the one causing these problems?” 

“You’re not stopping her, which means she’s going to carry on. Plus, when you told Marinette not to do anything, did you think about how harmful that sort of message is to her? She looked up to you, you were her cr---" Swallowing, she faltered for not half a second before correcting, "Her friend! And you betrayed her and let her suffer through these lies alone, day in and day out. To hear her talk about it, it's like they're almost gaslighting her about her own actions, constantly reinforcing that she's doing stuff that she never actually did.”

Kagami looked over Adrien's expression and saw no hint of him fully understanding the gravity of the situation. M. Damocles passed by a moment later, so she knew it was time to end the conversation here. “I think I need space from you right now. You’re not who I thought you were, and as much as I don’t like seeing the truth, I know it’s necessary.” 

“Kagami!” Adrien hissed, his green eyes pleading for her to come back, to take her words back. 

But Kagami didn't have the time or the cowardice to acquiesce. She let herself look back once.

“I need to go help my friend," she said. "Besides, you’ll be fine. Lila’s all over you all the time, and since you never stop her, I’m guessing you must like it.” 

Part of her hoped that he'd follow her. That despite how much she did want to talk to M. Damocles, Adrien would go after her and try to right his wrongs. That he'd demand she not end things between them there, like this, over Marinette. That he would do _anything_ but stand there and take it.

No such luck. Even though she felt her heart shattering, she approached M. Damocles on his way to his car. She forced a neutral expression onto her face and said, "Good afternoon, Monsieur."

M. Damocles looked over to Kagami, surprised. "Afternoon, Mlle. Tsurugi. Did fencing practice just finish up?"

"Monsieur, you know we always end practice five minutes before you leave," Kagami chuckled, allowing herself a slightly warmer disposition out of respect for the older man as well as to help grease the wheels. "I wonder, do you have any scheduled appointments for before school starts tomorrow? There is an urgent matter I have to discuss with you."

"You're in luck," he chuckled, taking out his car keys, "I don't have anything planned for the half-hour before school starts. Can I ask what it is, or will you keep me in suspense?"

She paused, considering letting him know ahead of time. But then again, Marinette had only just agreed to get some help, and if she changed her mind or something came up overnight, Kagami didn't want to make her feel pressured. Finally, she decided, "I think it'll be best to talk about it tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow morning, then," he said, smiling warmly as he got into his car.

Kagami walked back, heading over to her own limo and getting in. She took out her phone and texted Marinette to let her know she finished up with fencing. Before she knew it, she was added to a group chat.

_Luka started a new group chat._

_Luka renamed the group chat to "#ProtectMari2020"._

_Luka renamed Marinette to "Cream Puff"._

_Cream Puff renamed Luka to "Rocker Boy"._

_Cream Puff renamed Kagami to "American Dragon"._

**American Dragon: M. Damocles is willing to meet with us before class tomorrow. I would suggest you bring the notebook and any other evidence you may have of this bullying. If your parents can come, that might demonstrate the gravity of this situation as well.**

**Cream Puff: Sounds good. Thank you for helping me out, K. Your support makes me feel better about this than I have in weeks!**

Usually, Kagami would have been satisfied with a plain reply or another dismissal to demonstrate that it wasn't much trouble for her to help her friend out, but she couldn't leave her message there. Instead, she _had_ to ask.

**American Dragon: It's no problem. But Marinette? Why did you name me this? I know my previous Miraculous identity isn't exactly a secret after Miracle Fox, but you know I'm not American.**

**Rocker Boy: it's bc of an American cartoon she used to watch**

**Cream Puff: i thought it was funny but if you don't like it i can change it!!!**

With a soft laugh to herself, she shook her head and wondered how anyone could ever think such a harmless girl would _bully_ one of her classmates.

**American Dragon: No, I kind of like it like this.**

She continued to text Marinette and Luka for the rest of the evening in between her homework and other duties at home. All the while, she became increasingly resolved to make sure that Marinette would be moved into a class where she wouldn't be intimidated or lied about. And if that class just happened to be Kagami's? Well, she sure as hell wouldn't complain. 


	5. A Little Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the help of her family and friends, Marinette makes the first step away from her previous misery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for not updating in months! I started doing some freelance work a few months ago and school started back up online so it was an adjustment. 
> 
> I worked on this chapter on and off, and I hope it doesn't feel rushed at the end. Sometimes when writing, it feels strangely difficult to not have too much plain narration or too much dialogue at once.

Marinette was as tense as a tightly-wound guitar string, ready to break if strummed too hard. At least, that's what Luka compared her to under his breath when he gently massaged her shoulders that morning. By the time he'd gotten to the bakery, she'd just stepped outside, miraculously waking up early and getting dressed. 

_"Mon chou,_ you should take a breath and relax a little," he added as he finished, placing a hand on her arm to turn her around. "The worst he can do is say no."

Biting her lip and tugging at one of her ponytails, she replied, "Actually, the worst he can do is expel me for good this time in such a way that no other school in France will have me, and I'll be stuck without---"

She stopped when he furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head. "Catastrophizing is the opposite of what I told you to do."

With a nod, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Opening her deep blue eyes, she took his hands in hers. "Okay, you're right. I can get through this. I can do this!"

She looked more like she was forcing the words out than like she actually believed them, but at least that was progress. There was a lot of damage done to her fighting spirit recently, and Luka knew about more of it than he let on to Marinette. 

Finally, her parents came outside, both looking like they were ready to fight for Marinette's sake. It had been a long and grim discussion the previous night, half of which Luka wasn't even there for since he had to go home, but Tom and Sabine didn't hesitate to agree to helping Marinette get transferred out of Mlle. Bustier's class. It hurt both of them deeply to find out after such a long time about what was happening in the class. They recognized that something shifted in their little girl's eyes and demeanor for some time (during which Tom honestly suspected Luka for longer than he would like to admit) but had no idea it was anything this serious. 

Before they had gone to sleep the previous night, Sabine had asked almost to herself, "Did we miss something? This Lila girl was the same one who almost got Marinette expelled, so maybe we should have asked about how the girl behaved towards her normally. Did we... Have we been failing Marinette?"

Swallowing thickly, Tom had reached for his wife's hand as he stared up at the ceiling. He'd been wondering the exact same thing, but right now, he knew that admitting that wouldn't help soothe his wife's worries. "Maybe we should have asked more about it, but it has to say something good about us as parents that she told us while there was still a chance for us to help her." He finally turned his head to where he knew Sabine's face was, even in the relative dark. 

"But she waited for so long..." Her voice was soft, full of heartbreak. "And you know that ever since the beginning of this school year, something's changed about her. It feels like she's trying to grow up faster than she needs to."

"Then we can remind her that we're still her Maman et Papa, and that we're willing to help her with anything when she needs us to. We can help her now." Pausing, he added, "Plus, these past few days, she's seemed happier with these friends, Luka and Kagami. I think they'll be good for her."

Sabine had hummed in contemplation for a moment before she sat up, pecked him on the lips, and then snuggled up against him. "I hope so."

Now, Marinette's parents stood before her. There was still sadness behind their eyes, so Marinette stepped away from Luka for the moment to hug them the way she'd hugged them last night. 

"Thank you both for supporting me," she said, completely grateful for the fact that she wouldn't have to deal with the toxic classroom environment anymore. 

Her parents put on reassuring smiles for her, and Tom said, "We always will. You're still our little girl, you know?"

With that, they walked to the school to meet Kagami, who stood at the front gate with her usual expression of nonchalance until her eyes landed on Marinette. A relaxed smile settled on her lips, and she called Marinette, her parents, and Luka over. 

"M. Damocles will listen to us, and if he doesn't, I have a backup plan." Kagami looked between Marinette and Marinette's parents, her eyebrows drawing together in an almost wincing expression, and she asked, "How attached are you to Marinette attending François Dupont?"

They exchanged concerned glances before Sabine replied, "We always thought we were blessed to live so close to such a good school, but our daughter is the real blessing. If she needs to transfer to somewhere else, we understand."

Kagami nodded with a contemplative hum. "Hopefully, she won't need to, but if worse comes to worst, I wouldn't want either of you to be alarmed should I need to give an ultimatum."

Though they both looked concerned, Sabine swallowed thickly and squeezed her daughter's shoulder reassuringly while Tom stood a little straighter. 

"Ready?" Kagami asked when she thought they'd steeled themselves enough. After everyone had replied affirmatively, she gestured in the direction of M. Damocles' office. "Then let's do this."

M. Damocles looked surprised that it was Marinette and her family stepping into his office with Kagami, which made sense considering that besides the expulsion incident, Marinette usually kept out of trouble. There weren't enough chairs in his office for all the people in it, but Marinette pulled Luka in for extra moral support as well as any helpful testimony he could give, and he stood beside her seat. Sabine took the other seat at Kagami's urging, and Tom stood behind his wife and daughter while Kagami stood at Luka's other side on high alert. 

"Good morning, Monsieur," Kagami said, her hands fidgeting behind her back. "Marinette is the student I was talking about yesterday who needed to meet with you."

"Ah, yes. Tell me about your concerns, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng."

Marinette looked to Luka and Kagami for courage and to her parents for support before she slowly began, "Well, Monsieur, I was wondering if it's possible to transfer me out of Mlle. Bustier's class for the rest of my time here."

M. Damocles furrowed his brows in confusion. "This late after the start of term? Why?"

"Because I've been experiencing problem of bullying in that class and Mlle. Bustier never does anything to stop it. Before, it was Chloé Bourgeois, and I understood the reluctance to discipline her since her father is the mayor, but now it's Lila Rossi with most of the rest of my classmates as well."

"Mlle. Rossi? That doesn't sound like her," he said slowly, stroking his beard. "Hold on, didn't she accuse you of bullying previously?"

"Yes, and stealing and assault. You expelled me, remember? But then she said she has a disease that makes her lie which she, for some reason, never put in her files or informed you about prior to that incident." Marinette looked down, opening up her backpack. "Now, I don't know if that same disease is what's causing problems for me now, but my classmates are bullying me - isolating me and insulting me whenever they can that I'm the one bullying Lila or stealing her fashion designs. Just yesterday, someone did this to my notebook."

She took out the book in question and held it out to him. He took it from her gingerly, raising his eyebrows at the pages. Mari winced at the sight of the torn and stained pages again, only grateful for the fact that at least that wasn't her main notebook for that class. 

"Do you have any idea who could have done this?" he said, closing the book and handing it back to Marinette. "I would like to discuss this behavior with them."

Alya's name burned at the back of her throat, but she couldn't bring herself to risk putting someone she'd once cared about so much in trouble, even if Alya really was responsible. "Honestly, I'm not sure, but I have a suspicion about one of the people involved. I don't want to accuse anyone without hard evidence, though. Really, I'd rather move to a different classroom away from whoever could have done this."

"That's rather drastic, Marinette. If you could tell me who the people are who are bothering you, I can have a private talk with them and get this squared away quickly."

"All due respect, Monsieur, this is past a private talk," Kagami piped up when Marinette blanched at the idea of pointing a finger at any of her classmates in particular. "Plus, as Marinette said before, there is a bad track record of discipline in this school. With Chloé Bourgeois getting away with stealing, vandalism, and breaking into Marinette's locker, and Lila Rossi and her parents not receiving any admonishment for not informing the school of what appears to be a serious condition that affects other students, one would think that this school doesn't care about bullying. If Marinette isn't transferred to a different class, my mother and I will personally help the Dupain-Chengs find a new, better school that cares about students. Perhaps I may even start attending such a school myself due to this institution's evident lack of concern for students' well-being. If we have to go that distance, my mother will be sure to tell anyone who'll listen why I decided not to attend François Dupont anymore, and the Dupain-Chengs might feel inclined to do the same at their bakery. I imagine that would hardly be good for your school's reputation."

Spluttering, M. Damocles looked to Marinette's parents and asked, "Monsieur, Madame, you're not seriously considering having your child leave this school?"

"Actually, we are," Tom replied, looking at his daughter sadly. "Marinette already has enough concerns with balancing her schoolwork, her duties at home, and her creative passions. The last thing she needs is for her peers to constantly hurt and degrade her."

"You said moving her to a different class is drastic?" Sabine said, looking to M. Damocles. "We've seen the toll this is taking on her emotional health, and if something drastic isn't done, we're worried about it affecting her physical health, too. Marinette is our child, and we refuse to take chances on her well-being."

"Come, now," M. Damocles said, trying to ease their worries without knowing that he was coming off as dismissive. "Aren't you exaggerating just a bit? I'm sure it's not nearly that serious---"

"It _is_ that serious and far more," Luka interjected, breaking his silence. His voice was harsh and strong, just like it was when he'd spoken to XY and gotten akumatized because of his anger. "Ever since Hawkmoth came to Paris, everyone has to worry about akuma attacks and even being akumatized, especially already stressed-out students. Haven't you noticed how many students here are targeted to become akumas?"

Nodding, Kagami added, "Marinette is one of only two students in her class not to be akumatized, and the teachers here have been akumatized, too. Even you have fallen prey to Hawkmoth's power. Doesn't that say something about how toxic this school environment is?"

M. Damocles pensively considered everything he'd just heard, appearing especially stricken by the reminder of his time being akumatized. "Yes, I suppose... I suppose you're right. There have to be some serious changes made here. Mlle. Dupain-Cheng, how does---" he tapped the keyboard of the laptop in front of him, his eyes darting to the screen--- "Mme. Remy's homeroom sound? You'd share classes with your friend, Mlle. Tsurugi."

Mme. Remy? Marinette had never had that teacher before, though she knew that Mme. Remy taught science and math, switching with M. Lefebre for literature and history. If Kagami was happy with them, maybe they would be a good fit. 

After looking to her parents to gauge their opinion and seeing their nods of approval, Marinette replied, "It sounds good. How quickly would I be moved there?"

"I can call Mme. Remy in right now and let her know the situation so that you can start in her class today."

"Really? Thank you very much, Monsieur!" Marinette said, smiling gratefully. Luka took Marinette's hand in his with a similarly warm grin. 

"Don't thank me just yet, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng. I'd like to start instituting a program for homeroom classes or after school to help students who are struggling with stress in their lives find good ways to deal with that stress, so that we can address the widespread problem of akumatizations within this school. If you have any free time to help contribute to this, I would appreciate any input or ideas from you, as well as Mlle. Tsurugi and M. Couffaine here."

This came as a surprise to Marinette, who'd never thought the school would have needed such a program before today, but it did make sense. After Luka and Kagami pointed it out, Marinette was starting to seriously consider the meaning of how many people were akumatized from François Dupont. Something did have to be done to try to mitigate this damage, for the good of Paris. With every akuma, Hawkmoth would get stronger and stronger, which means that preventing akumas in their own community could help stall him. Stopping akumas was Ladybug's job, and part of that had to mean doing what she could to stop then before they happened. 

"Actually, Monsieur, that's a really good idea!" she chimed sincerely. "I would be honored to help contribute to it if I'm able to, and I'm surprised that it's not already a wider initiative in Paris. If this works out well and if you were to talk about it with Mayor Bourgeois or even just Ladybug, I'm sure they would be able to spread the idea so that other schools follow our lead."

M. Damocles smiled proudly at the idea of being at the forefront of a movement that would benefit the entire city. "Then I would look forward to making this a reality with your help. Now, let's get Mme. Remy in here so that you can get set up in a healthier environment."


	6. Bystander Bee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloé kept quiet while Lila took control, but when Marinette leaves, she can't stand idly by anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started this chapter around the same time as the last one because I knew they'd run pretty close to each other. I've never written a character like Chloé before, even in third person, so I hope I've done her justice with my interpretation of her leaning MUCH closer to the end of a redemption arc for her than in canon. 
> 
> By the way, I forgot to mention last update that I made a playlist of songs that remind me of the sort of storyline I'm planning for this fic, and if you're interested in music that might inspire your own salt fics, this is the link: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2wTi3Y1O0TLS6JKr6zdQEt?si=oE_dX5NzQp-y3ggypYOKBQ&utm_source=copy-link
> 
> If you have song recs that fit the vibe or themes of the story so far, I would be glad to add them.

It was a completely normal morning, or so it seemed to Chloé. Everyone chatted away for the last few minutes they had before class officially started. Though, to be honest, the class's subjects weren't normal. Okay, they were normal _by then,_ but the slippery slope from new and unfamiliar to casual and consistent conversation was something that she didn't want to think about too much. 

Even Sabrina had been taken in by the simultaneous praise of Lila and demonization of Marinette, going so far as to try to tell Chloé about all the ways everyone in the class had been isolating the girl or calling her out for her sketchy behavior. She must have thought Chloé still hated the girl, but honestly, the fire had fizzled out a while ago. After the way Marinette sacrificed her chance at fast-tracking her fashion career to keep Chloé's mother in Paris, she really couldn't summon up the same brattiness. Marinette always tried to be nice and respectful to a point, and Chloé recently started feeling like it was no longer fun to try to keep taking down the people that tried to help her. To insult her father, Jean-Pierre, Sabrina, and yes, even _Marinette_ felt... not exactly "beneath" her, but that was the best way she could explain it. She could do better. 

Especially with Ladybug expecting better from her. 

"I wish I could have seen her face," Kim sighed, unusually giddy about the story he'd just been told. 

With a raised eyebrow, Chloé couldn't help but judge the boy who used to admire her. True, she was already a pretty judgemental person who barely had any room to talk, but hadn't he been friends with Marinette? Was this what "real" friendship amounted to? Betrayal of this level? No wonder Chloé originally started her friendship with Sabrina as a sort of transaction. People stuck around for shiny things, not sentiment, and this entire class continued to prove her right. 

"It _was_ an accident that I spilled all that soup on Marinette's notebook, though," Lila insisted, her eyes big and falsely innocent. "Really, I just wanted to make sure she had it for Bio."

Scoffing, Alya remarked in a low tone, "Girl, trust me, she was going to accuse you of stealing it or something if you gave it to her. Besides, she deserved it after all the bullshit she's been saying to you."

Chloé rolled her eyes at that. The screenshots were unimpressive and most definitely faked, especially when looked at closely together. Anyone could easily see that there was inconsistency between the photos that called their reliability into question. But she didn't say anything. She hadn't been saying much of anything since Lila started her campaign to tear Marinette down. Marinette could definitely handle herself against the girl, especially considering the way she'd been growing a spine this year and standing up for herself more. 

Besides, anytime Chloé had wanted to intervene, it just felt... wrong. She couldn't explain it. The best she could come up with was that going to bat for Marinette would feel like she was lying as much as Lila since she'd spent so long personally antagonizing her. To suddenly change perspectives like that would probably cause suspicion in Marinette, and it might have turned the class even more vehemently against Marinette. Though trying not to cause more damage to the class's view of Marinette might have been a wasted effort _(lack_ of effort?) on Chloé's part. 

As always, Chloé kept her eyes on her phone, only putting it away when Mlle. Bustier finally walked in to begin class. She glanced back to see that Marinette hadn't arrived yet, but that was typical of the frequently tardy girl. Tapping her pencil against her notebook, she waited for Bustier to take attendance so she could get on with this day. Her teacher looked up, mumbling to herself as she took attendance as usual until she furrowed her eyebrows suddenly. Her eyes darted to the back, where Marinette was supposed to be, but there was something unusual in her gaze. She glanced back to her computer and tapped on her keyboard with stress still etched in her features. 

Then, she closed her laptop, stepped back, and said, "I'm sorry, I have to go... check on something very quickly. Please stay in your seats and don't be too loud while I'm gone. Feel free to go ahead in the book we're reading."

Mlle. Bustier rushed out the door, leaving the class in shock. 

"What was that about?" Kim asked aloud, voicing the surprise of everyone in the room. Even Chloé couldn't figure out what was bothering the teacher so much that she'd gone pale. 

Rose piped up, "I'm sure if it involves us, she'll tell us. Otherwise, if it's personal, then it would be rude to ask."

A general assent passed through the room, but Chloé felt strangely unconformable. The stress in her eyes when Mademoiselle looked up...

She could have just gone up to the laptop sitting on the desk only a few feet away from her and seen for herself whatever was bothering the teacher. In between some after-class discussions and tutoring, Chloé had learned the password to the laptop because she'd had to use it a couple times upon Mlle. Bustier's instruction. However, there was that ambition to do better that niggled at the back of Chloé's mind as soon as she even had the thought. It was wrong to just snoop on someone else's laptop, right? What if it was a personal email or something? Not that Chloé thought that Mlle. Bustier lacked professionalism and checked her personal email in class but---

Shaking her head, Chloé finally opened the book in front of her and carried on reading from where she'd last stopped. If the problem had the least bit of relevance to Chloé, she'd find out what it was. And if not, if it still left the teacher looking so stressed, Chloé supposed there was no harm in asking if Mlle. Bustier was okay. She didn't expect to be told about personal matters, but maybe it might help Mlle. Bustier feel a little better about whatever worried her so much if she knew that a student cared enough to ask. 

When Mlle. Bustier returned, she looked chastened and like she was in disbelief. "Class, I'm afraid I have some bad news. Marinette has decided to leave the class due to overwhelming bullying."

Chloé's eyes widened. Dupain-Cheng, one of the most stubborn girls she'd ever known, just left? _Marinette_ left? For once, she was completely giving up the fight against someone trying to keep her down? Sure, she'd acquiesced to Chloé before, but those were individual battles. This was the whole war, and she'd lost the energy to face off against Lila? It didn't make any sense. 

Twisting around in her seat, she tried to see what Adrien thought of this. He cared way more about Marinette than Chloé did, so he had to think this was utterly ridiculous, right? But his expression was stony, and his eyes looked sad and defeated, like he knew why this had happened.

"Good riddance," Chloé could hear Alyx mutter behind her. Honestly, Chloé might have snapped back if Alya hadn't started talking first.

"Mademoiselle, do you mean Marinette was taken out because of the way she was bullying Lila?" the so-called reporter asked as she raised her hand, her voice conveying no concern for Marinette at all.

A flash of _something_ flickered across Mlle. Bustier's face. "No. I mean that Marinette has been experiencing bullying from a student or students in this class, and it was so severe that she was ready to leave the entire school, but settled on switching classes. I can hardly believe this myself, but after seeing the evidence of a recent vandalism of her property, I have my suspicions of the students involved. Marinette prefers that no one know who she's talking about, but I am seriously disappointed in all of you. Even if you weren't directly involved, those of you who sit here today and never spoke up on her behalf or tried to help her, those of you who egged on the others and celebrated in her misery, all of you pushed her away from this class that she put so much work into. Even I--- even I didn't see what was happening before." 

Chloé's face felt uncomfortably warm at her teacher's words. She was guilty, too. Everyone there was, to varying levels, but Chloé herself had spent years antagonizing Marinette and hadn't spoken up once, even after she had finally started to learn basic human decency. 

"I'm going to personally apologize for my part in Marinette's recent pain. You all should reflect on what you've done and do the same--- not because I'm telling you to or because it'll fix the damage. It won't. She's hurt, she's gone, and she won't come back, but apologizing is the right thing to do after you've spent so long doing the wrong thing. And if I catch or hear about any of you talking to Marinette and doing _anything_ less than apologizing, there will be severe consequences." Looking around with steely eyes, she gave a sharp nod to the quiet class. "For now, continue with your reading. I'll print out a worksheet for you to fill out once you reach page 261 for homework. Please work quietly."

Reluctantly, Chloé lowered her head and forced herself to keep reading. When she found that she couldn't hang onto the words anymore, she settled on staring at the ink as her gaze blurred. Her shoulders were tense, and she felt her hands curling into fists. She found herself not caring as her perfectly manicured nails started digging into her palms because what could a little annoyance like that compare to what Marinette went through? What Lila put Marinette through, what Alya put Marinette through, what---

What Chloé put Marinette through. Vivid images of all the times she'd attacked or insulted the blue-haired girl over the past years ran through her head. She was mean, selfish, bratty, and jealous because Marinette was nice, generous, patient, and loved. She'd raged, thrown tantrums, and threatened school faculty because of her petty insecurities. In truth, she'd hurt almost everyone around her, but there were few people she hurt as unrelentingly as Marinette.

And yet, Marinette threw her a party when she saved Paris. Marinette brought her and her mother back together at the expense of working under the queen of fashion. Marinette tolerated Chloé in situations where it would have been easier to sink to her level, but she never took the easy path. Marinette was never akumatized when Chloé was absolutely terrible, but Chloé had given control to Hawkmoth for less.

Ladybug trusted Chloé with the Bee Miraculous time and time again when Marinette was the real hero. But even then, with all that to Marinette's benefit, so many people turned against her. It must have been crushing her for weeks--- months, even!

Chloé spent most of the rest of the period trying to focus on the book in front of her but still found herself glancing back to where Marinette used to sit, wondering how she was doing now.

Near the end of the period, Mlle. Bustier passed out the worksheets and called the class's attention as she did so. "Since Marinette is no longer a part of this class, we'll need a new class representative. They'll take over all of Marinette's old duties of planning events and field trips. Does anyone want to nominate someone?"

Rose raised her hand and said, "I nominate Lila! She's so organized and intelligent, she's sure to be an amazing class rep!"

As the class clamored to agree, Chloé was stunned by the sheer ignorance of all of them. Was she the only one who took Mlle. Bustier's words to heart? They already bullied Marinette out of their class, and now, they were going to elect the head bully to lead them? 

Unlike the others, Lila seemed reluctant, strangely. "Guys, are you sure you want me to? I think Marinette would _hate_ me being the class rep considering how much she hated me just being in the class."

Chloé looked up to Mlle. Bustier, who looked like she wanted to hold onto the last thread of her patience at those words, and she was about to speak when Alya said, "No, you'd be really good for this class. Like Rose said, you're organized, and you're well-traveled, so you probably know all the best spots for us to go to on field trips."

"But Alya, surely a diligent blogger like you knows a few hot spots for our class?" Lila asked, brushing her fingers through her hair, which Chloé had long since learned was one of Lila's tells when she was trying to worm her way out of something.

"I can't take it on," Alya reluctantly replied. "The Ladyblog takes up a lot of time to run."

Lila's eyes dated around the class while she looked for ideas. It was clear that she didn't want to do it, but she apparently wanted to pass the responsibility onto someone else in such a way that it would seem like she was doing them a favor. "Well, who was class rep before Marinette? I bet they'll be glad to take up the reins again."

"Oh, it was Chloé! She took care of all the class rep responsibilities for _years,_ and she was great at it!" Sabrina chimed, excitedly nudging Chloé.

The blonde in question, however, was less than enthusiastic. She didn't look up from the worksheet in front of her as she nonchalantly said, "I was, but everyone made it clear they didn't want me anymore."

"What do you mean, Chloé?" Lila asked, and Chloé chanced a glance at her to find those green eyes looking wide and sympathetic. "I'm sure you were as good as Sabrina said, and you can probably do even better now! You shouldn't let the fact that Marinette took up your title discourage you."

In all the time that Lila had been around, the two of them had never directly interacted. Marinette was the first to try calling Lila out, and when that didn't work out well for her, Chloé kept her distance and made sure that Lila would never talk to her, even going so far as to refuse to make eye contact with the Italian girl. Now that Marinette was gone and those sickeningly simpering eyes were in front of Chloé, she found it hard to keep quiet. 

In the end, she found somewhat of a compromise between being nice and saying what she really wanted to. Mimicking the over-sincere eyes, Chloé cooed, "You're right, but, Lila, I would be intimidated by you. You're already practically a leader to this class, and you do so much, so we might as well make it official!"

Lila could apparently find no one else to turn to, so with a strained smile, she said, "You know, I guess we should."

Still frowning at the direction this had taken, Mlle. Bustier pinched the bridge of her nose and said. "All in favor of Lila being class rep, raise your hands." She didn't seem to bother counting the hands; after a precursory glimpse, she turned back to her desk and muttered, "That's that, then."

Chloé spared a final glance at Lila, somewhat pleased by the slight frustration on her face. But even that pleasure couldn't last too long; she saw the gears turning in Lila's head, like she was planning ways to get out of her class rep duties. 

But Chloé couldn't care too much about Lila's schemes as long as they resumed their normal distance from each other from that point on. As the bell rang for their next period, Chloé started a plan of her own that mattered far more than whoever would fall for Lila's tricks in future. 

She was going to apologize to Marinette as soon as possible, to do the right thing after years of wrongs. It wouldn't erase the past, but maybe it could at least give Marinette closure.


End file.
